This invention relates to novelty puzzles of the type where pieces representing portions of an image are to be unscrambled to form the image. More specifically, the invention is directed to a self-contained puzzle kit wherein the puzzle pieces can be mounted on a substrate by means of a pressure-sensitive adhesive.
It is known in the art to employ pressure-sensitive adhesives for fastening puzzle pieces to a support or to otherwise hold them in place, once assembled. However, such puzzles generally require adult supervision or assistance when given to young children to assemble. Some of the many pieces of a puzzle can be lost. Adhesive coated puzzle pieces can be difficult to handle and can stick to surfaces for which they are not intended, or even to one another if not carefully handled. Moreover, very young children often do not have the cognitive ability to transform a scrambled image on the pieces of a puzzle into an unscrambled one.
Prior art puzzles which use adhesives do not lend themselves to holding a child""s interest or rewarding a child upon completion of a puzzle, e.g., by providing the child with a prize, separate and apart from the completed puzzle.
The aforementioned shortcomings of the prior art are overcome by the instant invention which provides for a puzzle game having a top layer with a plurality of disorderly arranged sections each of which has a top surface that bears a portion of a scrambled image, and a bottom surface with a pressure-sensitive adhesive, and a bottom layer having a top surface with an affinity for pressure-sensitive adhesive less than that of the bottom surfaces of the top layer sections, and a bottom surface on which there is imprinted information for orderly arranging the top layer sections in a configuration in which the first image is unscrambled. The pressure-sensitive adhesive on the bottom surfaces of the top layer sections, when subjected to pressure, affixes the bottom surfaces of the top layer sections to the bottom surface of the bottom layer thereby producing an assemblage bearing the unscrambled image.
An intermediate layer may be sandwiched in between the top and bottom layers for being hidden when the puzzle is in its original scrambled state and for being exposed and separable from the top and bottom layers for use, e.g., as a prize coupon, while permitting the completed puzzle with the unscrambled image to be separately retained.
The bottom layer upper surface may have a release coating for use with an intermediate layer that has a pressure-sensitive adhesive on its underside. Alternatively, the bottom layer upper surface may be coated with a pressure-sensitive adhesive, a fugitive adhesive, or a repositionable adhesive for use where the intermediate layer has a bottom surface with a release coating.
It is therefore an object of the invention to provide a self-contained puzzle which can be readily assembled by young children with little or no supervision.
Another object of the invention is to provide a puzzle wherein directions for assembly of the puzzle are integral with a backer to which the unscrambled puzzle pieces are to be adhered.
Still another object of the invention is to provide a puzzle wherein each piece can be removed from its position in a scrambled image and repositioned to its position in an unscrambled image without need to remove any other piece of the puzzle.
A further object of the invention is to provide a puzzle wherein a concealed coupon, picture, certificate or the like can be exposed for separation from the puzzle when the puzzle is completed.
Other and further objects of the invention will be apparent from the following drawings and description of a preferred embodiment of the invention in which like reference numerals are used to indicate like parts in the various views.